FOUNTAIN — Deion Sanders came face to face with a deer. His players put their phones away and spent a few days roughing it in dorm rooms with no air conditioning.
Only time will tell if Colorado’s week spent down in the Colorado Springs area will bring together the 2026 Buffaloes in a way that the 2025 wasn’t during a season in which effort waned down the stretch of a 3-9 campaign, a Coach Prime-era worst.
But it’s not something these CU players will forget anytime soon, even as they return to Boulder, where they’ll remain until heading to Atlanta for the Sept. 3 season opener at Georgia Tech.
“At first, guys were a little timid about it. ‘Dang, we’re away from home, we’re in dorms again.’ But after day one, we began to grow closer,” veteran running back DeKalon Taylor said. “During the day, we don’t take our phones anywhere. I promise you, after 7 a.m., no one has a phone on them. We just talk to each other. We’re just laughing, joking all day. It feels surreal. It’s like a true getaway.”
Colorado quarterbacks Isaac Wilson (16), Kaneal Sweetwyne (14), and Julian Lewis (10) look down the field before throwing the ball during a practice at the Fountain-Ft. Carson High School field on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)
Whether it was staying in the dorms at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs or taking the bus to practice at Fountain-Fort Carson High School, sixth-year safety Ben Finneseth described the experience as something reminiscent of football camps he and his teammates attended in their youth.
“It’s an adjustment, but having to go through something like that altogether, it just makes it enjoyable and it brings us all closer together,” Finneseth said.
The most memorable part of the week was Wednesday evening’s trip to the Air Force Academy, where the Buffs caught up with the Falcons football team and shared stories about their own respective experiences in college thus far.
Sanders said Air Force coach Troy Calhoun welcomed CU to campus “with open arms” and it was a good chance for his players to hear that there is a team less than two hours away that can explain what true sacrifice is.
“They talked about the intricate details of attending Air Force and what they must go through to get in,” Coach Prime said. “Our kids talked about our disciplines and they talked about their disciplines and we ain’t like them. They’re unbelievable. I’m thankful that we had the opportunity to go do that.”
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders looks on during a practice at an NCAA college football training camp in Fountain, Colo., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
“They just live such a different lifestyle,” Finneseth added. “Hanging with all of those guys was super cool and just seeing all of the things they gotta go through, like their basic training and their survival camp. That’s a real grind. Hats off to those guys.”
Maybe that visit inspired the effort on the practice field the following day, with Sanders and the players commending the hard work being put in.
“Our practices have been super intense, extremely physical,” tight end Zach Atkins said. “We’re only a week in and I’m starting to get a little sore, but that’s football and we all love it. Just being here is such a cool experience.”
Other than Boulder, there might not have been a better place for Sanders and his team to begin preparations for the 2026 season.
“Colorado Springs is beautiful, isn’t it?” Coach Prime said.
The list: 3 early standouts
from CU Buffs fall camp
Colorado linebacker Gideon Lampron (44) goes through drills during a preseason practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at Fountain-Fort Carson High School. (Tyler King, The Denver Gazette)
CB Cree Thomas
The Notre Dame transfer has carried over momentum from his big first spring in Boulder, making plays left and right on the practice field this week. Described as a “hooper” by teammates, Thomas is continuing to solidify himself as the team’s top cornerback heading into the season by making big plays in coverage.
WR Quentin Gibson
Though yet another video went viral this week in which college football fans on the internet couldn’t help but poke fun at the size of the CU team, Gibson continues to find a way to make plays at just 5-foot-9 and under 160 pounds. The former MaxPreps Player of the Year made a big impact on special teams as a freshman but now has a chance to make an impact in a new-look offense. Gibson was consistently making explosive plays this week with an increased workload as several projected starters at wide receivers were limited with injuries.
LB Gideon Lampron
Coach Prime called him a “game-changer” for a reason. The Bowling Green transfer who was the only player in the country with over 100 tackles and over 15 tackles for loss last season isn’t the most physically imposing player but he’s impossible to miss with how often he is at the bottom of the pile after sticking his nose in to make an important tackle.
What I’m Watching
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, speaks with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., right, before a hearing Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson,File)
It seems the “Protect College Sports Act” has plenty more hurdles before it becomes a law. As is common with bills this size, members of both the U.S. House and Senate have been attaching amendments onto the bill this week, which only hurts its chances of receiving a proper vote before the Senate goes on a recess. The bill still has the support of President Donald Trump and the White House, but it does not appear a full vote will even occur before the start of the college football season.
Elsewhere across the country, dozens of players are trying to join or rejoin college football rosters after a ruling in a U.S. District Court in Denver made all 2022 high school graduates that exhausted their college eligibility in the winter/spring eligible to be grandfathered into the NCAA’s new 5-for-5 policy that goes into effect this academic year, thus making plenty of players eligible who don’t have an immediate NFL future. No players have joined or rejoined either Colorado or Colorado State’s roster as of now, but that could change in the coming weeks.
Quotable
Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis during a practice at an NCAA college football training camp Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Fountain, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
“There’s so much within the game that you can help a young quarterback be successful and not force him to be Dan Marino (on) day one. He doesn’t have to do all that because we have good people around him. We filled the room with talent so that guy can play free and not feel like I have to hold the ball extra, I have to do too much. We built a new offensive line in front of him, we put better skill players on the outside, in my opinion. In the running back room, we have guys that can get downhill and get tough yards. The run game helps, the defense helps. All those things help a young quarterback not feel like I have to go out there and throw it 40-50 times to win the game. There’s things there that are set up to make sure he doesn’t have to play hero ball. That’ll help him build confidence. You build confidence by winning. At the end of the day, the best quarterback stat is winning.”
— Colorado offensive coordinator Brennan Marion on putting QB Julian Lewis in position to succeed this fall